Didn't know where to post this, in General, Marketplace or Collecting, but I think the most interesting aspect of this article is that Josh Agle is going in a new direction with his work. I'm looking forward to it:

"Looks like it’s last call at the epic art party between gallery owner Billy Shire and artist Josh Agle, aka Shag. Billy Shire Fine Arts in Culver City is hosting a “Shag Swap Meet” on September 12th to purge the gallery of all reminders of the retro cool it helped popularize after a falling out between the two titans of the lowbrow art world.

Shire has been exhibiting the works he once described as “modswingingsixtiesratpackagogoloungelizardwatusiwarriors” since 1996 and has long been one of Shag’s biggest supporters. The owner of La Luz de Jesus gallery even wrote the introduction to Shag: The Art of Josh Agle. “It was always,” says Shire, “a handshake deal.”

When the artist decamped for a competing Culver City gallery, Shag said it was “like breaking up with a long time girlfriend” but hoped his relationship with Shire could remain amicable."

I wish the best for both of them, but it kinda reminds me of an old friend who left his spouse in the middle of an argument only to come back and find his belongings donated to the Salvation Army.

Once the paintings, prints, toys, mugs, charms, barstools (Shire once said Shag was the “most merchandised artist since Peter Max”) are sold, it won’t be the end of Shag but a reinvention. “I’ll be exhibiting new work at Corey Helford in November” he told us. “The paintings will be much larger, darker in color and theme, and more personal. I don't know how much they'll appeal to the typical ‘Shag-fan.’ Who knows? Maybe I'm committing double career suicide by changing galleries and style.”

Hooray!
Way to go Shag!
Shedding the old skin
preparing for the new...
i just hope he keeps that sly humor with him
in this new phase of creating...
in Anthony Storr's book "Churchill's Black Dog,Kafka's Mice and other Phenomena of the Human Mind"
the author discusses 3 stages of creative/artistic development..
the apprentice/study phase
the mastery phase
and finally, a reassessment phase-a self-study leading to further growth
and sometimes a 90 degree change of style/medium/theme.....
After the skills have been mastered and he settles into his hard-earned position
the artist feels a need for introspection and examination and evolution...
This is the most fascinating period for an artist
because it sheds off material gain,popular support,and old foundations..
It's kind of like a CREATIVE mid-life crisis..
the eternal question of what is success?
is it making tons of money and isolating friends and family
or is it the joy,the liberation of creation itself?
I haven't been this excited about anything SHAG in a loooong time!
i do hope he still dabbles with the Tiki theme,tho!

Maybe he's gonna examine the inner workings of fame and fortune
and how they affect the artist's psyche and life...
There is a deepness to his themes,but a lot of times it is masked by humor and wit
Maybe more message-less visual props?
more mystery?
more self-examination?

a successful artist remains and hides behind a signature style
the true artist examines and advances and sometimes changes...

success, hm? to me that would be to be able to do what you need when you need it and be authentic/ honest about it... if you need money, go get , if you are fine with that, and you need to feel exited about your work, why not?
i'm glad for shag, it's a move that shows that not everything is about the evil dime....
_________________mundotiki

The preview is hosted at the La Luz de Jesus site, but the actual swapmeet is at Billy Shire Fine Arts on Saturday, September 12. It starts at noon.
The prices on everything have been lowered drastically. Some of the prints, most of which are long gone and going for big bucks on the collector's market are priced less than they were new. I think I got the last Odalisque print.

So...this is the way to reward a guy who HELD BACK supposedly SOLD OUT prints?
I know Billy is going to make a TON of cash off of this event...
it's just really sad that you're all not saving your dollars
to support Shag in his NEW artistic journey
but instead scramble to reward
a possibly unethical print situation
that probably won't compensate the actual artist too much...

You know how people love a garage/yard sale! Strange, tiki was once found in the swap meets and garage sales of America: Now here's SHAG - the king of the neo-tiki world, being sold in a "high-end" swap meet.

I've been gone for a while, but subscribe to the news letters of many galleries. I received a recent email from Corey Helford Gallery indicating that they will now be representing Shag and knew that something was amiss.

I found this post by BigBro and it finally confirmed it. Without starting wildfire gossip does anyone know what happened? Are there any more news articles, interviews or personal accounts that can elucidate the situation.

BTW, I'm actually excited that Shag is painting more personal subject matter. Painting from the heart can only make ones work better.

I had talked to Piet very briefly at the Haunted Mansion 40th Anniversary signing product release, and he said that Josh was ready to do different subject matter, in a more sinister/darker tone. What that means exactly, Who knows. I won't know until his upcoming show in Culver City this coming Oct/Nov, but I am excited to see the new focus of Shag. I just hope he never loses his roots that made him so sucessful in the first place...Tiki and Mid Century Modern!

I see so many of Todays artists doing dark. Big eyed children filled with emptyness and doom n gloom gore art just doesn't doit for me, personally. So I hope it is a different type of dark sinisterish style.

Love the work you've done Josh, and looking forward to Version 2.1
Godspeed on his new artistic endeavors.

Being a little bit of a Shag-o-holic, I decided to use up some of my frequent flyer miles and attend the swap meet. So I show up right at noon, because I'm use to the huge crowds that Shag events usually bring. My wife and I walk in the door and we are literally the only people there. The Shag merch was in the very back and not even presented very well. I was certainly expecting more items for sale, but most of the prints were in drawers, so the viewable items were some original paintings and some mugs. I did buy a print I've wanted for a long time (Palm Springs Weekend) for a good price ($400), but I think the originals were overpriced. I was sad to see one of my favorite paintings (departure, stopover, arrival) was in poor condition with a badly chipped frame and very dusty (hey, they were only asking 60K). By the time we left maybe 10 to 12 people had shown up, just not what I was expecting at all. I took a few minutes to look at the galleries current exhibit and it was complete crap. I have a feeling they will miss the strong sales Shag always delivered.

Wow....that's sad to hear Tiki-Riviera. The triptych is one of my all time favorites too. It's sad to hear the the previous owner didn't take care of it. I know it's only superficial damage (ie: frame), but if I had the opportunity to own it, I would like it in the original frame. It's beginning to sound like a bitter break-up, but Josh has seem to moved on.